Tuesday, March 26, 2013 8:32 am

Romania: Trafficking ring to US, Canada broken up

The Associated Press

Romanian anti-crime prosecutors have searched tourism agencies in the south of the country on suspicion they are a front for a ring that trafficks Romanians into the U.S. and Canada.

Prosecutors said migrants initially traveled to Mexico and then paid $8,000 to be taken across the border to the U.S., while others illegally traveled to Canada. Romanians need visas for the U.S. and Canada but not for Mexico.

Some 600 people traveled to Mexico and of those, 300 were discovered in the U.S., prosecutors said.

Prosecutors Tuesday searched eight tourism agencies and 13 homes in the city of Craiova. They said three men ran the ring, which netted more than $1 million.

Romanian prosecutors cooperated with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.